Written by Walter Hecht   

Russia has replaced the old KGB of Putin's younger days with a new organization, the FSB, with much the same duties. Agents for the FSB often wear an artificial flower or flag pin concealing a microphone in their lapel. In the West, we would call it a boutonnière; in Russia, it is known as a Putin-Ear. Russia does not yet have capabilities similar to our NSA.

Russian scientists are working around the clock to add video capability to Putin's Ear Early devices required the wearer to face the person being recorded and that is a dead giveaway that the listener is an agent of the FSB. The goal is to produce a self-activating and self-tracking device that is voice activated and can focus on speakers within a 180-degree arc.